When Gandhinagar police arrived at a medicine godown at Chunkam in Kottayam on Sunday, where a theft was reported, it looked like the handiwork of a seasoned robber. The doors and almarah were broken open. It was done neatly; the scene wasn't messy. Barely any tools were used. Surveillance cameras were repositioned. Three mobile phones and cash worth Rs 2.5 lakhs were stolen from the godown.

The probe eventually led to a juvenile who committed a daring robbery in the godown in broad daylight on Sunday and went shopping in the Lulu hypermarket in Kottayam. There were two accomplices as well, also minors. They bought a sound bar from Lulu, an Apple iPhone from another store, had a scrumptious meal from the food court, and took home high-end fishing equipment from a shop. They even placed an order online for another iPhone. He opted for cash-on-delivery while placing the order.

The cops started off with a CCTV visual from a nearby location. It showed a youth in a hoodie and striped track pants boarding an auto from a spot near the shop. The police tracked the autorickshaw via other visuals. When the autodriver was traced, he gave the location where the suspect got off. The police surveyed the area and approached the suspect. He was in denial, initially cops didn't have enough evidence to corner him. "Given the time of crime and details we collected, he was our strong suspect. We came back with strong evidence pieced through visuals, showed it to him and his parents, and he confessed," said M H Anuraj, SI, Gandhinagar police.

During the search, the police recovered the dress he had worn for the theft from his house. The phones and remaining cash, which were hidden in the house, were also found. Another phone was hidden in a vacant plot nearby. The police haven't come across any criminal antecedents related to him. He wanted to do it alone and he was helped by the two others in planning and identifying the godown. The juveniles are from a middle-class family.

The Gandhinagar police cracked the case in less than 24 hours of registering an FIR. The hoodie and unique stripes on his track pants proved crucial in pinning down the suspect, police said. They will be produced before the juvenile justice board.